A fundamental problem surrounding oral hygiene is the storage of toothbrushes in between use. The human mouth is full of a plethora of bacterial species, and it is likely that some, if not most, of these bacteria are retained on the bristles of the brush after use. This is in addition to any food debris that might have been removed from mouth, and is now lodged within the bristles of the toothbrush. In many cases, repeated rinsing of the toothbrush with water is not sufficient enough to flush the contaminants from the bristles, and the toothbrush is then put in a drawer, on the counter or in a cabinet, and the like, for storage purposes. These warm and moist conditions then precipitate a supple breeding ground for further infestation of the toothbrush bristles by pre-existing and circulating bacteria and viruses. What is needed is an apparatus that is capable of storing a toothbrush in an antiseptic manner, while also protecting the toothbrush from any and all external contaminants.
There have been various incarnations within the prior art where attempts have been made to provide a sanitary toothbrush storage device. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 6,119,854 discloses a sanitary storage unit, where the head of a toothbrush is immersed in an antiseptic fluid that is situated in a removable reservoir. U.S. Pat. No. 6,360,884 discloses an essentially rectangular storage container where the entire toothbrush is inserted into the container, and the bottom portion of the container possesses an aqueous antiseptic solution. Furthermore, multiples of these storage containers can be interconnected with each other. Additionally, U.S. Pat. No. 6,135,279 discloses a sanitizing toothbrush storage apparatus comprising an apparatus that raises and lowers platforms into and out of an aqueous solution that is stored in a container.
One common disadvantage to these and other toothbrush storage devices is the complexity in the design, leading to a greater expense being incurred during the manufacturing process, and this cost is then passed on to the consumer. Another disadvantage found in much of the prior art is again related to the complexity in the designs. The consequence of these intricate designs are various types of lids, elaborate mechanisms for inserting and retrieving the toothbrushes, mechanisms for mounting the apparatus to a wall, and the like. As a result, the plurality of moving parts and apertures contained in much of the prior art generates apparatuses that are hard to thoroughly clean. Circumspect cleaning of the apparatus will then provide a multitude of locales for contaminants to thrive, with this being counterintuitive to the initial premise behind the apparatus. What is lacking in the prior art is a sanitary toothbrush storage apparatus that is simplistic in design, providing for an efficiently manufactured, cost-effective toothbrush storage apparatus, and additionally, one that is simplistic to clean.